Time to promote mail-in voting but post ballots early
I never was too excited with voting by mail.
We moved to rural Scott County, Iowa, about 27 years ago and I never quite forgot being a "city girl." This would include voting, which I've been doing since ... Well, quite a long time.
Years ago, decades ago, my parents would take me to vote in suburban Minneapolis. This would be after supper and I'd be the little kid watching all the excitement. Both of my folks worked on President Kennedy's campaign in Hennepin County, Minnesota, and my mother founded the Democratic League of Women Voters there.
My first vote was in person, in 1976 in Cedar County, Iowa. After that I voted regularly in person, most recently at the McCausland, Iowa, city hall.
This spring, however, we Iowans who are registered to vote got a ballot request form from our Republican Secretary of State, Paul Pate. It was for the June 2020 primary election.
Pate reported that he took that step as he was concerned about the physical safety of voters during a pandemic. A record number of residents responded in voting by mail.
After that, majority Republicans in the Iowa Legislature passed a law that limits the ability of the Iowa Secretary of State to send out absentee ballot request forms, as Pate had done. That law was highly debated.
President Trump weighed in on the legitimacy of voting by mail, even as he does that himself. The New York Times now reports that the Trump campaign is both questioning the mail-in process, and promoting mail-in balloting on social media (it's buying ads on Facebook).
So the whole topic has become a political football, which is a shame.
Entire states, like Oregon, Colorado and Washington, use mail-in balloting for every election and its popularity is growing in the era of COVID-19. Studies show that mail-in voting does not favor either political party. It's safe and reliable.
Suggestions:
1. Fill in and return only one ballot request. (We've gotten 4, so far, this season).
2. Look for the actual ballots to arrive in the mail.
3. Fill out and return the ballots early.
Both Bakers have sent off ballot request forms and will vote by mail.
It does seem smart to get the ballot off in plenty of time before Nov. 3. Personally, I hope to take our sealed ballots downtown to the Scott County Auditor's office.
For information online: https://www.usa.gov/absentee-voting
Comments
Post a Comment